Corn-gatherer.



A. El KEELER.

CORN GATHERER. APPLICATION 'mib FEB. H. 1916.

' P ixented Mar. 13,1917.

" urucmou FILED rzaru. m6.

A."R.KEELER. I CORN GATHERER- a satin-sun 2.

' Patented K115133917.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ALONZO a. KEEDER, or ALTONA, ILLINOIS.

comI-GA'rHERER.

1 9,327 Specification of Letters Patent. Patent ed Mar. 13, 1917. l Application filed February 11, 1916. Serial No. 77,651.

To all whom it may concern.

Be it known that l, Anoxzo It. Knicnnn, a citizen of the Ullllii'll States.-reaiding at Altona, in the county of Knox and State of Illinois, have lX'U'UlllLuil eertain new and use.- lul lniprovements in orn-(latherers, of whieh the follmving is a speeiiieation.

The present invention relates to eertain improvements in corn gatlierers, or machines for gathering the ears of corn from the stalks in the fiolil. There have, in the. past, been devised nran (:ons'truetiom; of maeh ne. for awoniplishing this. result, but as far aa I am aware all of sou-h nuu'hines have been open to a numher of serious olijevtiona in their operation. ()ne. of these ohjeetiona has referenre. to the inability of swell previous loaehines to lift tho (lown stalks into proper pc'isition for the action of the snapping rolls. Ordinarily, when the corn stalks are felled by wind or otherwise. they snap ata point a foot or eighteen inr'hes ahove the ground. and fall over so that the upper portiono of thestalks lie against the ground. As a re halt. thero remains a standing portion of one or more. feet in height to \Yll'ltllrlS (.(mIltCttKl one eiul of the felled stalk. Iln case. an attempt in maileto raise the. lo'lle't'l stalk by ap piieation of a li't'tingiorce at a point iltljll." rent to the standing portion. said Stalk will lm ah at anotlwr pointadjacent to the point of applieation of shell lifting force. This is lrorheoause the. major portion of the weight rons iai of tlni ears of corn whieh a re loeatod well up along;- the l LXl V of the stalloanil is 'l'urlher tron heeauso the stall; itaelt? is not very strong nu-oluniieallv. .lnasnnleh as the proportion of clown stalks is usually large, depending; upon the oeaeon axnl loeality. it follows that maehines whieh are unahle to properly littsuehatalks into lillNfll poaition for the ol'wration oi the mapping rolls will paaa over a very large portion oi the erop in tho held.

The main olvieet of the present invention is to provide a eonstrlu'tion of maehine whieh will eli'eelively raise the ilown Stalks. no'malleuin what llll'il'llflil they uia v lie with respeet to the-ilirertion oi travel of the nun-him. so as .to hring aaill stalies into the l-ile of lhe snapping rolls. Another olijeet Into aeeomplish the for going result within a l'or-m ol maehinr whieh is so eonatruel'wl that it will readily aeromuuulate and :ulapt itself to llltqllzllliltn ii -1hr.- suriaee oi' the ground. This will male it ossible for the machine. to operate lei safu ly in the lifting of the down stalkh own where the lll(l is comparatively rough or uneven.

Another feature of the. invontion has reforonee to the. oonstructi J11 of the. maehino in such form that it can be readily usei l as a two-row maohinetha is, one adapted to remove the corn SillllttilIiROllSl) from two adjacent rows. Another object of the invention is t generally improve the. ineehanical eonstrnetion of the ile\iee so as to simplify its eolu truotiou and (iteration, while at the same. time improving; the. operation and the quality of the work wh eh it willperform.

()ther olijerts aml Lees'ol' the invention will appear from a litaiietl ileseri jition of the Same which consists in. the features of oonatruetion and eomhiuations of parts hen inafter described and fiaimed.

referring to the (lrlwingfi:

Figure 1 shows a plan view of a two-row machine embodying lh features of the presentinvention;

Fig. 2 shows. a. vert'u al eross section taken on line 2-42 of Fig. 1, looking in the direction of the. arrows;

Fig. 3 shows a verti al cross sect-ion taken onv the line of Fig. 1, looking in the di- 'reetion oil. the arrows;

Fig. 4. shows a side elevation of the machine;

Fig. 5 shown a rear aprons; ancl Fig. 3 shows a ver ieal section taken on the. line --(i of Fig. 1. looking in the threetion of the arrows.

-\s above stated. all previous forms of corn ren'mvers. with .w nieh l am aware. have heen open to the ohjee sion that they will not sueoessfully raise th down corn into a ataiu'ling position. 0 at any ;rate into such a position that they oin he el 'feetii'ely operated upon in" the snapping rolls. In priler to successfully aoeom ilish this liftingrJit is ueeeaaanv to apply h tting foree. t1 the. stalks in hlHll a mannor as to raiae the upper portionsv of the stallo without hreakin'g the stalks at points intermediate the ears and the. standing portiol. This lifting force ahouhl he applieil'as lose as possible to the ears themselves. aml ahoulri he applied hy the exertion of a lifti 1;; pressure over a eonsitlerahlo length of he stalk itself. Furthermore, the mechanism should be so eoniew of one of the ai le two successive corn rows in orderto ally and evenly raise all of-the down stalks strueted that the lifting force will be gradually brought into effect so as to gradually and evenly raise the stalk.

I have providedmeans 'for accomplishing the foregoing results. In the particular construction illustrated in the drawings, said means takes the form of one or more aprons which sweep the ground in advance of the body portion of the machine itself, said aprons being so constructed as to sweep practically the entire width of ground between gradulying in their path of travel;

In order to assist the movement qf'the' stalks toward the snapping rolls and in order to assist the raising of the stalks, I

have providedsuitable conveyors or carriers whose function is to cause a movement .of the stalks upward and toward the snapping rolls, so that the entire lifting force will not be dependent upon the wedging action of the aprons and slides previously mentioned.

Referring now tothe several fi res, the

machine thereinillustrated is provided with a pairof relatively -lar e wheels 7 and 8 in The axle 11 is journaledto t e forwardgenda" driven by them.

. its forward portion, sai wheels being adapted to travel on the ground outside of the oorn rows which are being operated upon.

. These wheels are conveniently shown as being mounted on 'theforward ends ofa frame having rearwardly extendin rails 9 and 10.

of the rails 9 and 10, and said axle is connected to one or more of theywheels and is The rear portion" of; the frame is drivenin any convenient manner as by horse power or i engine power, but in' the particular construction illustrated a horse-driven construction is shown. The same includes a cross bar 12 pivoted to. the rear end of the *rail 9 at the point 13, and having a lock l iwhereby. it may be connected to the rear'cnd/o'fthe rail "10.. This bar 12 carries the'whifiletrees 15 which are drawn by the horses. When it is desired todriv'ethe horse'in between-the rails 9 and 10, the bar 12 can be unlocked from the rail 10 and swung back to allow the horse to wall: into position; The bar 12 carries a pair ofgguide wheels 16 and 17 which preferably trail, as shown in -Fig. 4, said guide wheels supporting the rear end of the rame and also serving as convenient steering.

means. For this'purpose, each guide wheel is carried by a fork 18, the upper vend of which is pivoted to the bar 12, said upper ends being provided with levers 19 which are connected bya link 20. The steering may be accomplished by moving-the link back and forth from. one side to the other in any suitable manner.

Connected to the forward portion of the frame are the tables 21, 22 and 23. These tables slope upwardly at a convenient angle,

asshown in 4, their forward ends iyin somewhat above the surface of the groun and their rear ends lying at an elevation sufiicient to raise the corn stalks eventually into such a position that said stalks (fan be conveniently operated uponb the snapping rolls presently to be descr' ed. A convenient construction is that illustrated in which the table 21 is connected to the bar 24, the table 22 to the bars 25 and 26, and the table 23 to the bar 27/ The central portions of these bars are. journaled onthe axle 11, and their rear ends will rise andfall within limits which may be determined: the operator. Inasmuch as the center 0 gravity of thetables is substantially forward of the pivotal points on the .'axle,,, the tables will.

normally stand in their lowermost position illustrated in Fig. 4, but they Wlll be'raised by the rising of the aprons; when necessary to pass over inequalities in the surface 'of the 'g r0un'd. In order to limit'theamount of up ward movement of the tables, I have illustrated the lever arni 28'pivo'tedat the point 29, said leveraarm be proirided with a lock 30 working on the 31, so that the lever arm may be lockedin any desired'position.

Connected to the' foi'ward-end 32 of the lever arm are th loops-33 corresponding to the bars 24,- 25, '26, and 27, said loops being raised or lowered by operationz of the lever 28. The rear ends ofthe buses-25, 26, and 27 normallystand a chat the upper portions of the-loops33 an the swing-of the said {Mr-rs is limited by the lower portions of said s shown particularly in Fi 2, the tables 21 and 23' have their enter a ges curled or beaded under. Each of said tables not only slants u ward from front'to rear, but is. divided' ongitudinally into portions which slant respectively toward the sides and to ward the center of-the machine. The inner edges34 of said tables lie at substantially the same elevation, as their outer-beaded edges'35, and said inner edges lie close to the corresponding snapping rolls. The table.

22 comprises the portions 36 and 37' respec, t1vely,--so that sai table not only slants up ward from front to rear, but also assumes an 'A-shaed cross section, as shown inFig. 3.

The side portions 38 and 39 of said table'lie l best shown in Fig. 1.

Reference to Fig-1' will disclose a trough 40 lying immediately behind the table 22.

The front end of said-trough is closed by close to the corresponding snapping rolls, as I the wall 41, and its rear end is closed by thewall 42- Reference to Fig. 2 shows that the side portions 43 and 44 of said-tren h. slant downward and toward each other,tlieir up-.

per edges 15 and 46 lying adjacent to the corresponding snapping rolls. The front ends of the edges .45 and 46 lie adjacent to the rear ends of the edges 38 and 39 respectively, so that the material traveling along the snapping rolls will pass from the side edgis of the table 22. directly to the side edges of the trough 0. The lower portion of the trough is depressed as at 47 to accomlnodate'zl. conveyor presently to be described. Each pair of snapping; rolls comprises cylinders 48 and 49 having the helical teeth or flanges 50 on their surfaces, so that as said cylinders are rotated in opposite directions andtoward each other, a stalk lying between them will he caught by the flanges 50 and forced to travel toward the rear by said flanges, while at the same time the down ward movement of the cylindrical surfaces will force the stalk down toward the grouml alongits own axis. On account of the fact that the distance between the snapping cylinders 01' rolls is not sufficient to pass the 2 cars of 'corn, said cars will be stripped oft" and the stalk will he delivered downwardly free from cars. The ears so stripped will tall down into the hopper. ll). and be delivered. to. the conveyor therein.

Reference to Fig. 1, shows that the trout portions of the tables 21, 2.2 and 23 are spread apart a slight amount so as to proride v shaped or wedgeshaped openings be tween them. These are the openings 51 and 52 of Fig 1. As the snapper is caused to travel along the ground toward the right in Fig. 1, the corn stalks will enter .the one i or other of said V-shaped openings and will. be taken hold of by snapping rolls'and operated upon in the manner just described. In order to facilitate the entrance of corn stalks between the snapping rolls, I have shown the traveling. chains and 54 adja- .cent to the opening 5l'and the travel-in; a0 chains and 56 adjacent to the opening These chains have outwardly projecting teeth which travel r'earwardly as the snapper travels forward and thus cause the stalks to enter th: snapping rolls. The several chains just described are preferably driven at such a speed that-their teeth stand practically stationary with respectto the ground while said teeth are in working position, as shown in Fig. 1 the snapper. in the meantime advoicing along the ground.

The trough 47 carries the conteyer 57 which travels rearwardly along said trough and then passes down. and underneath to the torward end of the trough. This conveyor has suitahly constracterfi teeth or the like which carry the stripped cars tothe rear of the trough where they will be taken up by another. conveyor 58 and dcliverral. away from the snap'pcrto any desirwl point. The

so conveyor .58 may l). a portirn. of a separate device, it desircd. said device. for example,

I kin; the l'orm ot a wagon travclin; alone beside the, snapper and adapted to receive the ears as theyare delivered from the wrapper. a 1

the purposes previouslyset forth. In? the particular construcdon illustrated, these are the aprons 59, 60 an id 61. and they are hero in shown as being separate from and inovr. able with respect to the several tables. The

cross section of said aprons is such tliattljiey cooperate effectively with the front portion" of the tables to relive]? the stalks evenly. 8 0.. onto said tables. [n-order to support the aprons, I have PI'tVlClQCl the forwardly extending poles (i2, '63 and (H rcspectivelyflth front "'ends of said poles being corme'ctcc'l to, the aprons and the rear ends ot the poles being pivoted to' tl e axle 11. ()u the trout 'end of each table in a loop as through which is passed the corrcs mndin; pole. and said loops serve to linit the vertical movement. of the poles anda monswith. resl'vect'. tothe tables. Each of t IUIHIHUUS preferably lies, at a more acute angle to the ground than does the correspon ling table so as to Secured an easier lifting force on the corn. stalks;

and so as to more easily sweep beneath o| under the down stalks. "Therear end of. each apron is pro ided with a plate or the, like 66 which extcnds up and o.v(a lies.thc front end of the (U1I'l'S]')0T1(llll,{{ table Sodas to pass the stalks easily to the' table If ,desired. iins or tholike 7 may be rovided for loosely connecting: the proper aprons and tables togethe 3 wh le at the same time permitting the desired amount of treeplay.

As shown in Fig. l. the sidedges or the aprons form the Front portions of the V: shaped openings?) and 552. As the snapper travels along the ground. the aprons will wedge themselves under the down stalks. and by the time the snappw'has :ulranced substantially the ln'gth, ol said aprons, the stalks will have b0) raiscd only a colnpa 1a t-ively small dista'iee because of the acute angle at which the aprons lie with lftfilltl t to the ground. However. the rear portions of the aprons are oi consideral'ile width. so. that by the time said rcar portions are reached. a verys lbstantial portion of the. total length of tln down stalk willbc lying on the apron. .ll order to facilitate thi'r; travel of the stalks upward along the tables. 1 have provided 1 he chains 6h". l'ill aud 70. best shown in Figs. 11 and 2. said chains be ing providedwithteeth hehvccn which the sta ks will lie. 'lheserhains are driven in! such a manner th: t theytravel upward and. then to the .r'ar.hatter-ward rctnruing to the front of the machine underneath Qlhe tables. Al:- they tnavclatsuclrspccd that. their, upper 0 ex} osed- 'portlons ie1'iiain; si: l f3 sta'ntially. stationary with respect to the ground, or even travel rearward with respect to the round while the sna per is advancing, he chains extend orward with respect to the rear portions of the aprons, so that they take hold of the corn stalks before said stalks have left, the aprons.

Consequently, the chains come into action before-the relatively steep slope of the tables is reached. T e chains 68 and 70 of the tables 21-.and 23 preferably lie along the :nections fordriving the snapping rolls, eonridges of said tables, as shown in Fig. 2, so that th will operate u on stalks coming from. eit er side. It will benoted in this connection that by the provision of a double row machine, three aprons and three tables and the corresponding chains are sufficient to do the work' for both the corn rows, whereasat least two aprons and two tables and the corresponding chains would be necessary for a single row machine.

- In the particular construction illustrated, I have shown various geared and chain conveyers, and chains from the axle 11-, but it will be understood that any other'suitable means might be provided for securing such drives, as, for example, a gasolene engine. .I wish also to point out the factthat any construction for accomplishing this result, 3 as a matter of convenience 1n illusother suitable construction might'he pr0- vided for advancingthe snapper along the ground, and I have shown a horse-driven simply tration.

An examination of Fig. 3 in particular will disclose the fact that the tables 2-1, 22

r to.

and 23 are so formed and supported that they present their flat surfaces almost directly .to an observer looking at them from the front. In other words, a vertical section taken through these tables at riht angles. to the-direction of travel will at the planes of the tables onlines whiclflie almost horizontal. The result is that, as the snapper travels'forward the flat surfaces of the tables are presented. almost directly to the eorn'stalkssc as to exert a direct lifting force on said stalks throughout the en'- tire contacting lengths of the stalks.- Such a constructionmay. he distin ished from one in which the tables slope ownward toward each other at a--very steep angle to orchannel extending'fore and aft of 4 "the horizontal'soas to present-a steep trough '8 1 machine,'and havingits side walls formed that-the-chain carriers 53, 54,, 55, and 56 by the ti -ales.

Ijwisl. aho to call attentionto the fact Qerve not only toassist indirecting the corn film intojthes'napping olls, but said ear- .riers also-assist inzcarrying' rearwardl the removed ears and insuring delivery 0 said ears into the hopper or trough 40. Some of tbe'ears will snap oil before: the corn stalks -.to rear, another table 0 cross-section mounted on the fgame-work at.

have traveled rearwardly the full len h-of the sin: ping lls, and said ears woul tend tofall orwar and down into the spaces or v openings 51 and 52. 'Such ears, however will be carried rearwardly h the chain-car .n this connec- 'riers toward the hopper. tion, I desire also to point out the fact that the outside chain carriers 53a-nd 56 extend 'rearwardly a greater distance than the inside carriers 54 and 55. Consequently, as the ears are carried toward therear in the manner just described, they willfirst be released from the-bite of the-i'nside carriers, and the rearward travel of the outside carriers, after such release, will tend to swing the ears around and inwardly'toward the hopper 40, so that the ears will be readily delivered into said hopper.

These chain carriers scrveto deflect the corn stalks ,intothe. snap ing rolls because,

they extend forwardly a ong the sides of the openings 51 and 52-. They, then assist in raising the stalks over the rolls, and also assist in delivering the snapped corn ears to a higher point.

' It will be observed that both sets of snapping rolls serve to deliver the snap d ears. to a common hopper-or receptac e from which they may be removed by'a' can-j conveyer 58. Therefore, 'the hereiii 1 d scribed arrangement, is-one in which the ears from two sets of snapping rolls will be delivered to a common conveyer.

'lhe' intervalnecessary to pass the corn stalk down. between the snapping rolls is de-. pendent. among other things, upon the length of stalk to be passed. However, the

time interval necessary to pass a stalk from.-

the front to the rear ends of the snapping rolls is relatively unchanging. Conse-' quently, the extremely long stalks may not he passed, downwardly through the rolls' their full length so as to remove all'of the 7 corn during the interval inwhich the said stalks are traveling rearwardly. It' .w i'll, however, he observed that the mile mg.-

tends across the space beneath the snappingrolls, "and that, therefore, assoon as the gathering machine has traveled a sufiicient distance, said axle-will strikeagainstthe stalks and press thorn dqwnward so as to assist in drawing the "long" stalks through the snapping rolls, thereby overcoming thedifli cnlty above pointed out.

I claim:

hination' with itsuits.

" 1. In a corn gathering macLiinlq-dthfe comj le. w ee'e ramswork, and a connection for driving the same r from .therear, of a table of inverted V- J shaped cross-section mounted on the central forward portion of the frame-work,,with'its Q ridge portion 1 ing on the center line-of-the machine and s anting up inverted V-shaped wardly from front each side of'the first mentioned table, each of the last mentioned'tables having its ridge portion sloping upwardly and rearwardly toward the center line of the machine, and the rear portion of each of the last mentioned tables extending rearwardly with rc sect to the rear portion of the firstnnentioned table, a relatively flat airon ad acent to the forward end of each table, eacl apron overlying and extending forwardly on the forward end of the corresponding table, a

pivoted connection from each apron to the frame of thd-h1achine to permit the said apron to rise nd fall with respect to the corresponding able, each apron sloping upwardly andrea wardly at a lesser angle than the correspondng table, a pair of snapping rolls between each side portion of the central table,and fihe adjacent side table, means for drjvin all rier trave mg in the ridge portion of each table, means for'operating said carriers to cause them to advance rearwardly with re-' spect to their respective tables, a pair of carriers adjacent to each pair of snapping rolls, and means for o crating said carriers to cause them to t'rave rearwardly with respect to the adj acent'tables, substantially as described. v i

2. In a corn gathering machine, the com- -bination'with a suitable frame-work and a 'rearwardlywithyspect to" e rear portion ofthe central table a pair of snappmg rolls .between each side oltthe central table and the adjacent side table, means for driving the snapping, rolls, a relatively flat apron adjacent to thejorward portion of each table, each of said aprons lying at an angle more nearly horizontal than the corresponding table, and pivoted connections from the frame of the machine to the aprons to permit the-said. aprons to move up and down with respect to the frame of the machine, substantially as described.

3. In a corn gathering machine, the combination with a suitable frame-work and aconnection for drivng the same in its rear portion, of a table of inverted V-sha-pcd cross-sectionrin the central forward portion of the machine, the ridge portion of said table slanting upwardly and. rearwardly, a side table at each side of the central. table, each side table being of inverted v shaped of the snapping rolls, a car- 4 the first mentioned table and the adjacent side table, means -f 7r driving the snapping rolls, a relatively flat apron adjacent to the forward portion 01 each table, each apron lying at an angle more nearly horizontal than the corresponding table, and operative connections from the frame to the aprons to permit the said prons to more vertically with respect to tlu frame, substantially as described. y 54. In a corn gatl ,ering machine, the combination with a su table frame-work and a connection for (it'll ing the same in its rear portion, of a table of inverted V-shaped cross-section moun ed on the forward central portion of the frame, the ridge portion of said table exten ling upwardly and rearwardly, a side table mounted at each side of the central table, es ch side table being oi? i-nverted V-shaped cross-section and having its ridge portion exten ding upwardly and rearwardly with respett to the frame, a pair of snapping rolls lnou nted between each side of the central table ar d the adjacent side table, means for driving the snapping rolls, an apron adjacent to the forward portion of 95 each'table, each apl on lying at an angle more.

rnearly horizontal than the corres onding table, and an operative connection rom the frame to each ap: 70D, substantially as described.-

5, In a corn gat raring machine the' combination with a. suitable frame-work and a connection for driving the same in its rear portion, of a pair of tables of inverted V- shaped cross-section mounted on' the forward portion of tie, machine, each of said tables having its ridge portion extending upwardly and rearwardly, a pair of snapa ping rolls between said "ta'bles, means'for driving the snapp 11;; rolls, an apron adjacent --to the forwa'd portion of each table, each apron lying at an angle'more nearly horizontal than they corresponding" table, and a flexible onnectir n from each apron to the frametof the machine ,to permlt the said ap'ron to; move vertically with respect to the frame of the machine, substantially as described. v .6. In a corn gathering machine, the combination with a suitable framework and a 12 driving connection in the rear portion of the same, of a pair of tables of inverted V- shaped cross-secti )1). mounted on the for ward porti n of tie frame with their adjacent edges in 010% 1'u-oXi mity to each other, a pair pl? snappil g rolls between said adjacent edgcs meaus fo'1' rlriving said snap ping rolls, 'the rrlge portion of each table extending upwardly and rearwardly, an apron mounted it coiiperative position adjacenttto the forward portion of each table,

each apron lying. at an angle more nearly. .horizontalthan the "corresponding apron,

and a flexible.connection between each apron and the frame ,of the machine to erinit the said apron to move in a vertica direction with respect to the frame of the 'inac'hine, substantially as described.

7. In a corn gathering machine, the combination with a suitable framework and a connection for driving the-rear portion of the same, of a pair of tables of inverted V'- shaped cross-secti0n.mounted on the forward portion" of .the frame, the ridge nortion of each table extending upwardl and rearwardly, a pair ofsnappinf rols between the' tables, means for ri snapping rolls, a relflttivel flat apron adjacent to the forward -portlon ofleach table, and a flexible connection between each apron and the frame of the machine to permit the said apron to move vertically with respect to -the frame of the machine, substantially as described.

ALONZO R. KEELER.- Witnesses:

A. C. KEENER, F. H. OLSON.

ving the 

